GEORGE TOWN, Dec 6 — Pakatan Rakyat’s planned takeover of the federal government is now taking a backseat to Malaysia’s economy in the face of the recession, claims Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

“Our priority is No. 1 economy, No. 2 economy, No. 3 economy,” the opposition leader said today.

“I do not think it is necessary for us to talk about regime change and do nothing,” he said at an international meeting on Penang’s economic future here.

Anwar had earlier brought up the issue in his speech and noted that “stability cannot be sacrificed on the altar of freedom no matter how intense the desire for change has become.”

He said that Pakatan Rakyat was looking to lift the slowing economy by fighting corruption and making better laws at state level.

However, he admitted that the states have limited powers in carrying out their reforms especially where money was concerned and the people were blind to this fact.

But he stressed that the five PR-ruled states still needed to push their agenda forward.

He was confident they could lead the rest of the country forward by learning from neighbouring Indonesia which shares a similar two-government political and economic situation as well as from each other.

“The economy is paramount. We cannot ignore this. We are in for a very turbulent period in the next few months and years,” Anwar noted.

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